What I Am Here For
by Achromos
Summary: Set after "The Things I Would Do For You" (no spoilers, independent spin-off). Thorin, Thranduil and Legolas are a small, happy family, and Christmas is coming up. Only too bad the Erebor Bank traditionally hosts a dinner on Christmas Eve. How can Thorin combine business with pleasure? (And no that's not a reference to smut, lol.)
1. To go, or not to go

**Author's Note: **Okay, as promised this is the first part of my Christmas-sequel-spin-off for "The Things I Would Do For You". I don't think you need to read the main story to enjoy this one, but it is recommended. Despite this being a sequel (which means it takes place after the events in the main story) there won't be any spoilers since I promised you a happy end. There might be mentions of some drama, but that was clear, wasn't it? I mean, we can have total fluff, but that was never my intention with "The Things I Would Do For You" and you should know that :P

**Summary: **Thorin, Thranduil and Legolas are a small, happy family, and Christmas is coming up. Only too bad the Erebor Bank traditionally hosts a dinner on Christmas Eve. How can Thorin combine business with pleasure? (And no that's not a reference to smut, lol.)

Enjoy!

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He let out a deep sigh and looked at the paper in his hands with a frown. It was ridiculous, really – sending himself an invitation to his own party. But oh, at that moment he wished he could just tick the box right where it said '_I'm sorry, I can't attend_'. Sitting here, on the sofa, in the living room of the Greenleaf-house, warm and cosy in his pyjamas … That's how he wanted to spend the holidays. Suddenly, a hand reached into his face and pushed his reading glasses further up his nose.

"Hello, old man."

Thorin growled and grabbed the insolent hand, but Thranduil only laughed and flopped unceremoniously over Thorin's lap. He smiled up at him and tried to tickle him.

"You know I'm not ticklish," he said gently and raised an eyebrow over the rim of his glasses.

"Fun killer." Thranduil pouted and gave him his best puppy-eyed-look, before curiously eyeing the paper in Thorin's hand. "What are you reading anyway? It looks awfully important."

"An invitation."

"To what?"

"A party."

"What sort of party?"

"A very party-y party."

Thranduil groaned.

"Okay, okay. It's the invitation to the _Erebor Bank_'s annual Christmas Dinner."

"You sent yourself an invitation card? Why didn't I get one?"

"Yes, apparently Cameneth slipped one into my mail." Thorin sighed and rested his arms on Thranduil's upper arm, the card still propped up, so that he could read it for the umpteenth time. "And you didn't get one because I don't want to drag you into the shark pool. It's boring anyway."

"But I'm a shark, too."

Thorin burst into undignified giggling when Thranduil began to nibble at his wrist.

"S-stop! Stop it, Thranduil …"

"So you _are_ ticklish," Thranduil mused, a mischievous glint in his eyes, but he lay back again, humming contently when Thorin stroked his fingers through his hair, gently massaging the scalp.

"I _have_ to go," Thorin murmured to himself, still staring at the invitation card.

"Is it on Christmas Eve?" Thranduil asked slightly drowsy.

"Yes, unfortunately. I wanted to spend it with you and Legolas, but the Christmas Dinner has always been on Christmas Eve – I can't break with that tradition."

"Can't we come with you?"

"Technically a 'plus one' is allowed, and since it's my party anyway I could probably bring as many people as I like. But as I said, I don't want to- …"

"Why not?" Thranduil cut him short.

"Well …" Thorin sighed and took off his glasses. "I want to protect you from that sort of exposure. After all we've been through so far."

"I can handle", Thranduil claimed and waved his hand. "And Legolas can, too. He's my son after all."

"But _I_ can't handle. I would be constantly worried about you, on top of being nervous as always. You don't know those people; they are awful. Even Frerin and Dís refused to attend for years now." Thorin grimaced. "Photographs, and interviews, and sometimes even TV-coverage. Smalltalk and false pleasantries."

"That's what I would be there for," Thranduil argued and sat upright on Thorin's lap, in order to look him directly into the eyes. "I would be there to support you and ease your nervousness."

Thorin sighed.

"I can't argue with you, can I?"

"Does that mean I get to go with you? Am I your 'plus one'?" Thranduil grinned. "Oh my, I'll have to get myself a new suit – mine is older than Legolas. Oh, and he'll need one, too."

"No, I don't think I will force this onto him. He will only bore himself to death. There won't be any other kids his age. As I said, Dís refused to come, and she definitely won't be sending the twins."

"We can't leave Legolas here, alone, on Christmas Eve!" Thranduil protested.

"What in heaven's name are you two arguing about?" suddenly Legolas' sleepy voice cut in.

"Oh, Las. Sorry, did we wake you?"

"I was just about to fall asleep, yes." Legolas staggered over to them and let himself fall on the sofa as well. He let out a growl and buried his face in the narrow space between Thorin's and Thranduil's chests.

"Aw, we were actually talking about you," Thranduil purred and stroked his son's hair. "Would you want to accompany Thorin to his dinner party on Christmas Eve or not?"

"Mmmpf …" Legolas yawned and sat a bit more erect. "It'll probably be boring, right?"

"Quite so," Thorin said.

"Then no."

"Now we have a problem, because I want to go." Thranduil frowned and sighed, clearly upset. Thorin of course didn't like seeing him this way and leaned forward to plant an apologetic kiss on his beloved's lips.

"Ew, stop, not in front of me," Legolas protested and tried to free himself from their loose hug, but Thranduil gently held him back.

"Wait a second, please. Would you be offended if we left you alone on Christmas Eve? I mean, it's not like we ever celebrated it that much. We can always celebrate a day later or earlier. Remember three years ago when you had the flu so bad you couldn't keep down any food? We just postponed it."

"Yeah. Or I could ask if I can tag along with Tauriel and the Fosters for dinner. As far as I know their family won't be gathering this year," Legolas proposed. "We'll have the whole day for us, before you have to go to that dinner, anyway."

"That would be a possibility, yes. But ask Marcus and Ingrid first, then we can arrange ourselves," Thranduil said sternly.

"Of course, dad." Legolas yawned again. "Good night then."

"Night."

They waited until they heard Legolas' room door close. Then Thorin set aside the invitation card and pulled Thranduil closer in order to kiss him again.

"You're really determined to come with me," he murmured then.

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because we are a family now, remember? You promised me that after …"

"Shh." Thorin gently silenced him at that point and sealed his lips with his. "I know. I promised, and this time I will keep my promises."

"Are you ashamed, then?" Thranduil pressed his forehead to Thorin's and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Am I your secret paramour?"

"I love you," Thorin said, stressing every word and cupping Thranduil's face in both of his hands to make sure he looked at him. "I love you, and there is nothing to be ashamed of, or to be secretive about. You are my … Oh, boyfriend sounds so childish. No, you are my partner. And you, Legolas and me – we are a family."

Thranduil smiled gently then, rubbing his nose against Thorin's.

"Since I'm already Legolas' dad, what are you?"

"That is for him to decide."

"Aye, _partner_."

For a second they looked into each other's eyes, until suddenly they both broke into bellowing laughter. Somewhere a teenager's muffled voice protested, but that only caused them to laugh even louder.

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**Author's Note:** I hope you liked it, next part will either be uploaded on Christmas or shortly after. Tell me what you thought!


	2. Shall we dance?

**Author's Note: **LISTEN TO THIS MUSIC WHILE READING IT WILL BE MORE FUN! **Dimitri Shostakovich - Waltz No. 2 **Aah, this was so much fun to write, I can tell you. I hope you'll have as much fun reading it! There is also some **"El Tango de Roxanne"** from the musical/movie Moulin Rouge and **"Te aviso, te anuncio"/"Objection"** by Shakira.

Also I'd like to thank **rosalind-wt** from tumblr, who did some amazing fanart for this fic! Go to her or my tumblr (I'm **ereburp**) or her deviantart page (same username ... I obviously can't link it here ... But it'll be worth the search!)

Enjoy!

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"For heaven's sake, Thorin!"

"Sorry, oh God, I'm so sorry …"

Legolas giggled, sitting on the couch and enjoying the spectacle unfolding in front of him. Thranduil and Thorin were trying to dance – with emphasis on _try_ – but only managed to bump into each other and in Thorin's case stomp on his partner's toes every second step. They were dancing to the music of a very easy and slow waltz – _Waltz No. 2 _by Dimitri Shostakovich – and at first it had seemed like Thorin knew what he was doing. He had seemed to master the basics. But then Thranduil had surrendered lead to Thorin, playing the technical role of the woman in their dance, and … Well. Things went downhill from then on.

"_One_, two, three. _One_, two, three. Thorin! Two, three …"

Thorin snarled and threw a glowering look at Legolas – who was doubling over from the force of his laughter – over Thranduil's shoulder.

"Concentrate!"

Thranduil snapped his fingers in front of his face, and that just about gave him the last push.

"Okay, stop. I'm helpless! I told you I can't dance …"

"… and it obviously was an understatement." Thranduil stepped back and stood with his hands on his hips. "Seriously, Thorin, you are the one who told me there will be an opening waltz, and I could dance it on my own, but _you_ are the host. You need to dance. So either you pull yourself together and we figure this out or you sleep on the couch tonight."

Thorin's jaw fell.

"You can't be serious!"

Thranduil didn't grace him with an answer and only arched his left eyebrow.

"You know very well that I can't sleep anymore … Not without _someone_," he pointed at Thranduil, "by my side."

"That should be motivation enough, then. Hands," Thranduil commanded and this time he took the lead. It went slightly better, but their dance was still uncoordinated, because Thorin missed half of Thranduil's cues.

"Can we please not do the pirouette?" Thorin growled, feeling dizzy from all the turning.

"You wouldn't have to do it if you would lead me right," Thranduil shot back. "Look at me, not at your feet."

"Please …" Thorin whined, but he was mercilessly dragged along, completely out of rhythm. Thranduil harshly corrected his stance and didn't pull back his steps anymore, so Thorin wasn't the only one who stomped on toes. All the while Legolas still laughed, but by now he was lying on the floor and helplessly flailed his legs in the air, gulping for air.

"Okay, okay, this isn't going to work," Thranduil sighed after a few more attempts. He stepped back and turned off the music. "Let's abandon the waltz for a moment. Considering how many alterations the _Erebor Bank _saw in the last year, they probably won't mind us changing the opening dance. What about … tango?"

Thorin blanched.

"Are you saying that's easier than waltz?"

"The thing with tango is that we could fix a simple choreography so you – or I – won't have to bother with improvisation." When Thorin hesitantly nodded, Thranduil went to pick up his son from the floor and shook him a few times. "Legolas, can you play? Any tango you know."

The boy giggled a few times and wiped away his tears, but obediently went over to the piano to intone a few notes. Then, a mad grin appeared on his face and he hammered down a chord, gruffly and howled with a heavy Spanish accent: "Rooooxaaaane! You don't have to put on that red light …"

Thorin snorted with laughter, but Thranduil only frowned.

"No, that one doesn't have a clear enough beat for training purposes. Try something else."

Legolas pouted, but compliantly changed the tune. Thorin immediately recognised it, but the words were not in English, as he would have expected.

"Nunca pensé que doliera el amor así," Legolas purred and batted his lashes.

"You don't have to sing it, we just need the beat," Thranduil cut in, already trying out steps. But Thorin quickly shook his head and held him back.

"I don't think that tango will be any better than waltz."

"What about salsa? Mambo? Merengue? Bachata?"

"No, no, no and no. I'm not exactly the Latino type, in case you hadn't noticed," Thorin said dryly and pointed at himself. "By the way, where did you learn to dance all that?"

"In a school."

"Obviously."

Thranduil sighed and let himself fall on the couch.

"When I attended that music school … You didn't just learn to play all kinds of music, but of course you have to know what the background is. And playing tango means being able to dance tango. And later it was a hobby of mine. But I haven't danced in years."

"You know …" Thorin sat beside him and placed his arm around Thranduil's shoulder. "I'm really, really glad you're not a natural, and your talent comes from training."

"That would have injured your manly honour, right?" he teased, but snuggled into the embrace. They stayed like this for a few minutes, listening to Legolas tinkling the ivories, trying out all sorts of Latin rhythms. From time to time Thranduil would lazily correct something, but all in all it was a cosy evening like they enjoyed them ever since Thorin moved in with them. After a while the thought of their waltz bugged Thorin too much, and he looked at Thranduil.

"May I have the next dance?"

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**Author's Note:** Sorry for the shortness, but hey, it's fluff! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and since where I come from we get to open our gifts then, I already give you this little chapter. More hopefully by the end of the week. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!


	3. The show must go on

**Author's Note: Happy New Year** I hope you'll enjoy this little thing here. Nothing fancy, just more family fluff. Also fabulous fashion!Thranduil alert.

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Almost the whole extended family was gathered in the Greeleaf-Oakenshield living room. Dís was here – she had brought the suits 'for my two favourite boys besides the twins', as she put it. Representing the Fosters, Tauriel sat on the couch with Legolas – they would be leaving for the Fosters' house as soon as they had seen Thorin and Thranduil off. Thorin was already ready and there as well, though he was still fighting with his tie, and Dís lent him her helping hand.

"Nervous, hm? You always do perfect ties, except when you're nervous," she said gently and patted his chest, when she was finished. The midnight blue tie beautifully mirrored the colour of his eyes and the pitch black tailcoat accented his height and build.

"This is the first time Thranduil and I will be exposed to the public since …" He hesitated and waved his hand. "Since all that happened. Of course I'm nervous."

Suddenly, a piercing scream tore through the calm atmosphere and made everyone jump.

"Legolas! Help me!"

The teenager rolled his eyes and said to Tauriel: "You know, regarding fashion and all that my dad is actually my mom. You wouldn't belie-…"

"Don't you dare let your father down, boy!" Thranduil shouted from the other side of the house, and reluctantly Legolas rose from the couch. He winked at Thorin and grinned.

"Coming, dad."

It took them a few minutes, during which Tauriel, Dís and Thorin uncomfortably fiddled with their clothes, clearing their throats and shuffling their feet. When they eventually heard two pairs of steps approaching, everyone straightened.

"What do you think?"

Thranduil entered the living room, arms spread and a large grin on his face. The second, Thorin's gaze fell on him, his jaw dropped. A few strands of his shoulder-length blond hair had been pulled back into a small braid, and the black tailcoat flowed down his lithe body like a second skin. The cloth of his midnight blue waistcoat of course perfectly matched the colour of Thorin's tie and accentuated Thranduil's icy blue eyes. Having only seen Thranduil wearing jeans and leather jackets, the contrast was quite unbelievable.

Thranduil grinned and stepped close to Thorin, gently nudging the other man's nose with his own.

"You look good," he purred.

"You … look amazing," Thorin replied and almost shyly wrapped his arms around the other's waist.

"Las," Tauriel called, "if you're going to look like that when you're a bit older, I'm definitely gonna tap that."

At that comment they laughed a bit breathlessly, and while Legolas growling scolded his friend and Dís took in the sight of her brother and his boyfriend, the two men shared a soft kiss.

"Are you ready?" Thranduil asked quietly and smoothed his hands down the lapel of Thorin's jacket.

"No," he replied nervously and stole another kiss. "But you're with me, so everything's going to be alright."

"Good. What time is it?" he asked Dís.

"Just after six. Are you sure you want to be there this early?"

"There will be journalists asking us questions about the Arkenstone-case and I want to dedicate them enough time. Also we want to practice our dance once more in the hall itself."

"And," Thranduil added, "it is a nice gesture to greet all the guests personally as they arrive."

Dís agreed to that and ushered them out of the house and to the car. Because they would be dropping Tauriel and Legolas off at the Fosters' house, Tauriel sat in front and Legolas on the very right of the rear seat, so they could both easily climb out. Also this way Thorin and Thranduil were not separated. Dís made sure everyone had buckled their seatbelts and only then started driving.

"Daaaad!"

"Sorry." Thranduil straightened his hair with a small smile on his lips.

"I know you're both super happy you're together again, but I'm still not used to this whole making-out-in-public-thing. Please spare my eyes and … Well, just … Not in front of me." Legolas waved his hand and stared at his father.

"Legolas, one day you're going to be in love as well, and-…"

"Who is saying I'm _not_ in love?" Legolas shot back before Thranduil could end his sentence. Thranduil spluttered and shot a helpless glance at Thorin, but he only shrugged.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked after a few seconds.

"There was no time … with the Arkenstone-case and then the whole … _you know_. And then Thorin moved in with us. You didn't seem to be interested."

Even though Legolas' voice didn't indicate any hard feelings, Thranduil was struck.

"Legolas, you can always come to me. We can always talk. And who is it? Is it a boy or a girl?"

"We're here," he tried to deflect the question.

"No, don't close up now. Las, look at me." He gently turned his son's chin, until the boy looked at him. "You don't have to tell me, of course, but I'd be very happy to listen. Always. And Thorin, too."

"Of course," Thorin added, leaning forward to give Legolas a quick smile.

"Have a nice evening," Legolas murmured and quickly climbed out of the car. Tauriel was already waiting on the sidewalk and threw a strange glance at him. When the door was shut again, they waved, smiling, and Thranduil turned in his seat to wave back at them.

"Are you okay back there?" Dís asked when the kids were out of sight.

"Yeah." Thranduil snuggled closer to Thorin and quietly whispered: "Have I neglected him?"

"I wouldn't say 'neglected', but he was used to having your undivided attention for his whole life. He has to adjust, and he certainly doesn't like having to adjust." Thorin hesitated, gently caressing Thranduil's hand in his for a moment. "Do you think he doesn't like me?"

"Oh, he likes you. But as you said, he doesn't particularly like you having my attention."

The rest of their drive they spent in thoughtful silence, until Dís asked them if they were ready.

"No," Thorin sighed and rubbed Thranduil's shoulder.

"Let's get it over with. Remember: the first dip in the cold is the worst."

"Yeah, I know." Thorin smiled a bit and kissed the man beside him. "And thanks for driving us, sis."

"It's always a pleasure to help my two second-favourite boys."

They both snorted at this, but Thorin opened the door and squeezed Thranduil's hand before stepping out into the flashlights raining down on him like snow.

"Showtime," he murmured and placed his arm around Thranduil's waist, knowing that he already showed off his best smile and most advantageous pose.


End file.
